Creating a living trust is a personal decision based on your beliefs, finances and what you want to happen to your assets upon your death. While this isn't the only estate planning tool you'll use, it's one of the most popular.Before you decide in favor or against a...
We have a couple of fine institutions of higher learning here in Brevard County: Eastern Florida State College and Florida Institute of Technology. While both schools will be welcoming new students after the summer ends, a lot of families will opt to send their...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a 78-page bill that allows for remote notarization and witnessing of legal documents. While many in the real estate world are excited about this advance that will likely making closings easier to arrange, the new law also...
Some Florida residents with adult children struggle with making estate-planning decisions. For them, it's more than deciding who gets the antique gun collection and the life insurance benefits.They worry that the legacy they leave their adult children could wind up...
Some jobs simply call for expertise: complex plumbing repairs, baking a wedding cake and surgery. In all three cases, the odds are with the person who hires an expert to ensure that the pipes, cake or stitches are as functional and beautiful as possible.The same...
With an incentive trust, you essentially put a carrot out there to try to entice your heirs to live the way you prefer. You want to give them incentives to accomplish worthwhile goals. You reward them with their inheritance the same way you reward children for doing...
The old saying is that there are only two things you can't avoid: death and taxes. It seems clear that there are other unavoidable parts of life. It seems impossible to avoid the Florida sun and heat or the sound of the ocean, for instance.Regardless, there is nothing...
In a perfect world, you’d know exactly what you’re getting into when the probate process begins. However, there is no such thing as a “typical” probate process. There are times when everything goes as planned, as well as times when one complication after the next...
There are some myths that simply will not die. Even today there are people who believe that the Earth is flat, George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and that Columbus discovered America. Estate planning is, unfortunately, not immune from its own myths and...
Creating your estate plan is a necessary task, but it does take some thought. You have to make the choices that put your wishes first and that will take care of your family members when you aren't able to.While it doesn't have to be difficult to get everything...